After the disastrous harvest of 2018, a great year has followed for Dutch onions. The gross yield per hectare has for the time being been calculated by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) at just over 53 tonnes per hectare. That is 65% more than the 0.9 million tonnes of last season, but that comparison is actually unnatural. This year the revenues are significantly better. According to the provisional estimates of the CBS, about 1.5 million tonnes of seed onions were taken from the Dutch fields this season. This means that the gross yields are fully back to the level of 2017. And with that also the role that our Holland Onion plays on the world stage.
Export of Dutch onions (source: HOA)
Another new record in export
Looking at the first six months, exports are well into the black. Halfway through, the cumulative record of 2017 had already been shattered. And recently even the iconic 40,000-ton weekly record was topped! In the first half of the current export season, the Dutch onion chain achieved a sales increase of more than 4% compared to the almost magical shine year of 2017 and thus dominates the worldwide rankings at the expense of India.
Export ban India
Indeed, there is currently even export to India taking place. Bangladesh and surrounding Asian countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia also import Dutch onions. After all, where in previous years onions were collected from both India and the Netherlands, that can now only be true of Dutch onions.
Striking shifts
There are a number of noticeable shifts in the export top 20. After 2 years of absence, Brazil returned to the fifth position in the ranking. This year, the country has had to deal with crop damage from weather influences and is unable to import much from the nearby South American countries because of the same problems. It is the first time that onions have been shipped to Brazil this early in the season. It is therefore very possible that this destination will come back later in the season. But the most striking is the arrival of Poland in 12th place with a sales plus of more than 500%.
Increases in the Far East
An increase, incidentally, that is quietly surpassed by Thailand, which is currently in 19th position with just over 7.5 million kilograms. And that coming from an 87th position in 2018 with only 29,000 kilograms. We see the same with exports to Malaysia, which are back with more than 38 million kilograms and even well above the level of 2017. Dutch onions fill the natural gap that has emerged in many East Asian countries with the full have been locked in on Indian exports this season.
Also in the top 20 this season is Sri Lanka, which has emerged from nowhere with an export volume of more than 22 million kilograms. And the same applies to a country like Libya that is also spreading rapidly from scratch to more than 2.7 million kilograms.
Source: Holland Onion Association